• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award

In this urban adventure story, Khyber, a smart, bold, eleven-year-old girl from a poor neighborhood, sets out to find her friend X, a mysterious homeless woman who has gone missing.

The desperate search takes Khyber on a long, all-night odyssey that proves to be wilder than any adventure she has ever imagined.

Deborah Ellis is the internationally acclaimed author of more than twenty books for children, including The Breadwinner Trilogy; The Heaven Shop; Lunch With Lenin; Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees; and Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk About AIDS. She has won many national and international awards for her books, including the Governor General’s Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and the Children’s Africana Book Award Honor Book for Older Readers.Deborah knew she wanted to be a writer at the age of 11 or 12. Growing up in Paris, Ontario, she loved reading about big cities like New York. In high school, Deborah joined the Peace Movement, playing anti-Nuclear War movies at her school. Since then Deborah has become a peace activist, humanitarian and philanthropist, donating almost all of the royalties from her books to communities in need in Asia and Africa. Heavily involved with Women for Women in Afghanistan, Deborah has helped build women’s centers and schools, giving children education and finding work for women.In 2006, Deborah was named to the Order of Ontario. She now lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

Deborah Ellis' profile page

• Commended, PPYA (Books that Don't Make You Blush)
• Long-listed, OLA Silver Birch Award
• Winner, Governor General's Literary Awards: Text

Marvelous characterizations and fiercely close family ties...Unlike many coming-of-age stories, in this novel the odyssey is less important than the warm, redemptive homecoming.

Horn Book

Khyber's strong spirit and believable personality will draw readers in.

Booklist

All of the characters seem real and natural...Khyber is a likable protagonist and readers will appreciate how she copes with her issues...they will enjoy the story.

School Library Journal